I’m proud to be part of the new venture, “Know What,” an app that takes the guess-work out of figuring out the food and cultural hot spots most worth visiting in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles region. The recommendations come already vetted by experts in those areas, including yours truly.

Here’s how it works: Purchase the “Know What Essentials” app for $2.99 to get 250 top picks for food, hikes, museums and bars in both Northern and Southern California. Then, you can add on more specific modules for an additional nominal fee, including my “Ultimate Guide to Bay Area Dining” ($3.99), which includes my spotlights on 72 delicious places around the Bay Area not to be missed. My guide will be updated regularly, too, at no future charge to you.

Since it’s map-based, it couldn’t be easier to use. Just click on the map to see the places near you worth checking out. So, for folks who regularly email me questions such as, “Where should I go eat after the game today at AT&T Park in San Francisco?” or “What’s a new place to try in downtown Palo Alto?” — and you know who you are — having my guide at your fingertips is the next best thing to me being right there with you to lead the way.

Other Bay Area guides available by local writers include: “The City’s Best Cocktail Spots” by Camper English; “Things in San Jose that Don’t Suck” by Gary Singh; and “San Francisco’s Top 30 Taquerias” by Burritoeater.

“Know What” and my “Ultimate Guide to Bay Area Dining” are available for iPhones via the iTunes store. Look for an Android version possibly toward the end of the year.

Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a free copy of the “Know What Essentials” app, along with my “Ultimate Guide to Bay Area Dining.” Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST Feb. 25. Winner will be announced Feb. 27.

How to win?

Just tell me what wondrous app you most wish existed — and why. Most memorable answer wins.

Here’s my own answer to that question: “I would kill for an app that could clean my house. I’d hold the app up in the center of a room, push a button on my phone, and magically, the vacuum cleaner would start up, the dusters would go to town on the furniture, the squeegee would do its thing on the window panes and any clutter would put itself away. If anyone can come up with that, I’ll kiss the ground you walk on — well, once it’s been mopped clean by the app.”